Device for giving information to vehicle, vehicle and method for giving information to vehicle

ABSTRACT

The present invention is particularly applied to a vehicle relating to a key-less entry system, and desired information is provided to a vehicle  5  corresponding to the information by monitoring a remote control signal from an electronic key  2  for the key-less entry system, and starting up operations in response to this remote control signal as a trigger.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus fora vehicle, a vehicle, and a method of providing information to thevehicle, and more particularly can be applied to vehicles having akey-less entry system. With the present invention, invention can easilybe provided to vehicles without causing troubles to a user by monitoringa remote control signal from an electronic key for a key-less entrysystem, starting up operations in response to this remote control signalas a trigger, and providing desired information to a correspondingvehicle.

BACKGROUND ART

There has been used a key-less entry system for improving usability ofvehicles. Namely in the key-less entry system, a door can be locked andunlocked by operating an operator provided as an electronic key in theremote control mode, so that the door can be operated without insertinga key into a key hole provided on the door.

In relation to the key-less entry system, for instance, Japanese PatentLaid-open No. 2001-112071 proposes a method of utilizing the key-lessentry system for home automation by detecting a remote control systemgenerated by operating an electronic key to detect arrival of a user andswitching setup of interior facilities such as interior lighting.

A driver of a vehicle sometimes hopes to enjoy music contents or videocontents while driving the vehicle. Further a driver checks electronicmails and further checks various types of documents. In the cases asdescribed above, because a car for company use is used by a plurality ofusers, it is required to prepare various types of information to satisfyneeds of the users.

Currently, there is only one method available for providing varioustypes of information to a user on a vehicle, and in this method the useraccesses servers or the like via, for instance, a mobile telephonenetwork so that desired information is downloaded in response tooperations of the user on a vehicle.

It would be more convenient, if information can be provided to vehicleswithout requiring any specific operation by a user.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention was made in the light of the circumstances asdescribed above, and proposes an information providing apparatus for avehicle, a vehicle, and a method of providing information to the vehiclewithout requiring any specific operation by a user.

To achieve the object as described above, the present invention isapplied to an information providing apparatus for a vehicle fortransmitting desired information to information equipment loaded on thevehicle. The information providing apparatus includes communicationmeans for sending and receiving desired data by means of radiocommunications, and control means for controlling operations ofinformation output means for storing the information and sending saidinformation to the vehicle as well as operations of the communicationmeans. The control means monitors a remote control signal from theelectronic key relating to a key-less entry system via the communicationmeans, and the control means starts up operations of the informationoutput means according to the remote control signal from the electronickey as a trigger to transmit the desired information to the vehicle.

With the configuration according to the present invention, the presentinvention is applied to an information providing apparatus for a vehiclefor transmitting desired information to information equipment loaded onthe vehicle. The information providing apparatus includes communicationmeans for sending and receiving desired data by means of radiocommunications, and control means for controlling operations ofinformation output means for storing the information and sending saidinformation to the vehicle as well as operations of the communicationmeans. The control means monitors a remote control signal from theelectronic key relating to a key-less entry system via the communicationmeans, and the control means starts up operations of the informationoutput means according to the remote control signal from the electronickey as a trigger to transmit the desired information to the vehicle, sothat a user can easily build a system by effectively using a key-lessentry system to provide information to the vehicle not requiring anyspecific operation to the user.

Further the present invention is applied to a vehicle capable ofdownloading desired information stored in prespecified informationstorage means, and the vehicle according to the present inventionincludes communication means for receiving a remote control signal froman electronic key relating to a key-less entry system and control meansfor sending and receiving desired data via the communication means. Thecontrol means executes an operation for locking a door with the remotecontrol signal from the corresponding electronic key detected via thecommunication means and acquires desired information received by thecommunication means according to the remote control signal as a trigger.

Because of the feature, with the present invention, it is possible toprovide a vehicle capable of easily providing information to the vehiclewithout requiring any specific operation to a user by building a systemeffectively using the key-less entry system.

Further the present invention is applied to a method of providing to avehicle by transmitting desired information stored in prespecifiedinformation storage means to the vehicle. In the method according to thepresent invention, operations of the information storage means arestarted up in response to a remote control signal from an electronic keyrelating to a key-less entry system as a trigger, and the desiredinformation is provided to the vehicle corresponding to the remotecontrol signal.

Because of the feature, with the present invention, it is possible toprovide an information providing apparatus for a vehicle capable ofeasily providing information to the vehicle without requiring anyspecific operation to a user by building a system effectively using thekey-less entry system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a general diagrammatic view showing an information providingsystem according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the information providing system shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a processing sequence by a centralprocessing unit in a vehicle in the information providing system shownin FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing data update processing in the processingsequence shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a processing sequence by the centralprocessing unit in a computer for the information providing system andthe information providing unit shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a data update processing in aninformation providing system according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below withreference to the related drawings.

(1) FIRST EMBODIMENT

(1-1) Configuration of the First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a general diagrammatic view showing an information providingsystem according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Thisinformation providing system 1 provides various types of informationfrom a prespecified computer 4 to a vehicle 5 by monitoring an operationof an electronic key 2 with an information providing unit 3 in responseto an operation of this electronic key 2 as a trigger.

The electronic key 2 is one for a key-less entry system, and is, forinstance, a remote commander for at least locking and unlocking a doorof the vehicle 5 with a remote control signal based on, for instance,infrared ray. The electronic key 2 has a plate-like form with aprespecified thickness, and can lock or unlock a door of the vehicle 5when the electronic key is approached and a pressed operation element 6provided on a surface of the electronic key is pressed. Because of thefeatures, the electronic key 2 can be used as a key for the vehicle 5.Therefore the electronic key 2 can execute such processing asauthentication for the locking and unlocking processing.

Namely, as shown in FIG. 2, in the electronic key 2, atransmitting/receiving section 7 subjects output data outputted from anencoder/decoder 8 according to control by a central processing unit 9 tosignal processing and outputs a remote control signal based on infraredray. The transmitting/receiving section 7 also receives a remote controlsignal sent from the vehicle 5 and based on infrared ray, notifies thecentral processing unit 9 of the remote control signal, and furthersubjects the remote control signal to signal processing to output aresult of the processing to the encoder/decoder 8.

The encoder/decoder 8 switches operation according to control by thecentral processing unit 9, modulates data outputted from the centralprocessing unit 9, and outputs the modulated data to thetransmitting/receiving section 7. The encoder/decoder 8 also processesthe output data from the transmitting/receiving section 7, decodes datatransmitted from the vehicle 5, and outputs the data to the centralprocessing unit 9. Because of the features, the electronic key 2 cantransmit and receive various types of data to and from the vehicle 5 viathe transmitting/receiving section 7 and encoder/decoder 8 according tocontrol by the central processing unit 9.

The central processing unit 9 constitutes a computer controllingoperations of the electronic key 2 together with a memory 10 storingtherein a control program for the central processing unit 9 and data forauthentication. Namely, the central processing unit 9 starts upoperations in response to an operation of the operation element 6,transmits and receives various types of data to and from the vehicle 5via the encoder/decoder 8 and transmitting/receiving section 7 toinstruct an operation for the door lock to the vehicle 5. In thisprocessing, the central processing unit 9 transmits the data forauthentication stored in the memory 10 to the vehicle 5. The data forauthentication is used for authentication of the electronic key 2, andis configured of code specific to the electronic key 2. Because of thefeature, the electronic key 2 executes the processing for authenticationbased on the data for authentication with the vehicle 5, and thereforeonly the vehicle corresponding to the electronic key 2 can be subjectedto operations for locking or unlocking the door thereof.

In response to the configuration of the electronic key 2 as describedabove, in the vehicle 5, a transmitting/receiving section 12 receives aremote control signal based on infrared ray transmitted from theelectronic key 2 or the information providing unit 3, and notifies acentral processing unit 14 of reception of the signal. Further thetransmitting/receiving section 12 subjects the received remote controlsignal to signal processing, and outputs a result of the processing tothe encoder/decoder 13. Further the transmitting/receiving section 12subjects output data outputted from the encoder/decoder 13 to signalprocessing and outputs a remote control signal based on infrared ray.

The encoder/decoder 13 switches operations thereof according to controlby a central processing unit 14, modulates data outputted from thecentral processing unit 14, and outputs the modulated data to thetransmitting/receiving section 12. Further the encoder/decoder 13processes output data from the transmitting/receiving section 12,decodes data transmitted from the electronic key 2 or informationproviding unit 3, and outputs the decoded data to the central processingunit 14.

An in-vehicle device 16 is information-processing equipment loaded onthis vehicle 5, which processes information provided from the computer4. In this embodiment, various types of data such as schedules,electronic mails, various document data, video contents, audio contentsdata, positional data for destinations are provided from the computer 4,and the in-vehicle device 16 includes a computer with software forchecking and managing schedules, electronic mails, and various documentsimplemented therein; AV equipment for storing video contents and audiocontents in a large capacity storage medium such as a hard disk deviceto present the contents to persons on the vehicle; and a car navigationdevice for, for instance, guiding the vehicle to a destination based onpositional data for the destination.

An actuator 17 includes a plunger for locking or unlocking a door of thevehicle and the like, and because of this configuration, in thisembodiment, the door lock can be operated by driving the actuator 17.

The central processing unit 14 constitutes a computer together with amemory not shown, and controls the door lock or other components of thevehicle 5 by executing the processing sequence with a processing programstored in this memory. The processing program is previously installed inthe memory constituting the computer for providing to the user, or canbe provided to the user by installing a program downloaded with acommunication unit not shown via a network such as the Internet orinstalling a program provided to a user in the state where the programis stored in various types of recording media. Various types ofrecording media such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magnetictape and the like can be used as a recording medium available for thepurpose as described above.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the processing sequence of operations ofthe electronic key 2 by the central processing unit 14. When receptionof a remote control signal is notified from the transmitting/receivingsection 12 to the central processing unit 14, the processing flows fromstep SP1 to step SP2, and the central processing unit 14 instructs thetransmitting/receiving section 12 to receive the remote control signal,and also instructs the encoder/decoder 13 to process the receivedsignal. In step SP3, the central processing unit 14 acquires data forauthentication transmitted from the electronic key 2, and then in stepSP4, verifies the data for authentication to data for authenticationpreviously registered.

Then in step SP5, the central processing unit 14 determines based on aresult of verification in step SP4 whether the remote control signalreceived by the transmitting/receiving section 12 is from the electronickey 2 corresponding to the vehicle 5 or not, and when it is determinedthat the remote control signal is not from the electronic key 2corresponding to the vehicle 5, the processing flows from step SP5 tostep SP6, and the processing sequence is terminated.

On the contrary, when it is determined in step SP5 that the remotecontrol signal is from the electronic key 2 corresponding to the vehicle5, the processing by the central processing unit 14 flows to step SP7.In step SP7, the central processing unit 14 determines whether the dooris currently locked or not. When it is determined that the door iscurrently locked, it is determined that the user has instructed tounlock the door, and the processing by the central processing unit 14flows from step SP7 to step SP8, and the central processing unit 14unlocks the door by driving the corresponding actuator 17. Then theprocessing flows to step SP6 and the processing sequence is terminated.

On the contrary, when it is determined that the door is not lockedcurrently, it is determined that the user has instructed to lock thedoor, and the processing by the central processing unit 14 flows fromstep SP7 to step SP10, and the central processing unit 14 locks the doorby actuating the corresponding actuator 17. With the operationsdescribed above, in the vehicle 5, the door can be locked by operatingthe corresponding electronic key 2.

When the door is locked as described above, it is determined that theuser has returned from a place where the user has gone and also that thevehicle 5 is left in the state for a while, and also it is determinedthat, even when various types of information are provided to the vehicle5 at a relatively low transfer rate, there is a sufficient timeallowance for updating the information.

In this case, the central processing unit 14 determines in the next stepSP11 whether a request for updating from the computer 4 is made within aprespecified period of time or not. When a request from the computer 4is not made within the prespecified period of time, it is determined,for instance, that the vehicle 5 is now parking at a different placefrom a place where the computer 4 is installed, and the processing bythe central processing unit 14 flows to step SP6 with the processingsequence terminated.

On the contrary, when it is determined in step SP11 that a request fromthe computer 4 is made within the prespecified period of time, theprocessing flows to step SP12, and the central processing unit 14executes the data update processing for uploading data such as schedulesand the like from the computer 4, and then the processing flows to stepSP6 with the processing sequence terminated.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the processing sequence by the centralprocessing unit 14 in the data update processing. When the centralprocessing unit 14 starts this data update processing, the processingflows from step SP21 to step SP22. In this step, the central processingunit 14 executes the processing for mutual authentication by transactingdata for authentication and the like with the computer 4 sending therequest in step SP11 described above, and determines in the next stepSP23 whether the mutual authentication has been made correctly or not.When it is determined in this step that the mutual authentication hasnot been made correctly, the processing by the central processing unit14 returns from step SP23 to step SP24 to restart the previousprocessing sequence. With the operations, in the information providingsystem 1, information for the vehicle 5 can accurately be provided tothe vehicle 5 which is an object for operations of the electronic key 2.

On the contrary, when it is determined that the mutual authenticationhas been made correctly, the central processing unit 14 stores, in stepSP 25, information transmitted from the computer 4 in the in-vehicledevice 16 received and corresponded via the transmitting/receivingsection 12 and encoder/decoder 13, and stores, in the subsequent stepSP26, this update as a history. Further the central processing unit 14determines in the next step SP 27 that the update is completed or not bymeans of data exchange with the computer 4. When it is determined thatthe update is not completed, the processing returns to step SP25, whilein turn, when it is determined that the update is completed, theprocessing flows to step SP24 to restart the previous processingsequence. With the processing sequence as described above, the vehicle 5can receives various types of data transmitted from the computer 4 viathe communication units 12, 13 for the key-less entry system. With theconfiguration as described above, the computer 4 monitors operations ofthe electronic key 2 with the information providing unit 3, and providesdata such as schedules to the vehicle 5 via the information providingunit 3.

The information providing unit 3 is an external device which can beconnected to the computer 4, and is installed, for instance, at aparking area. The information providing unit 3 monitors a remote controlsignal with the electronic key 2, and when a remote control signal forthe electronic key 2 having been registered previously is received, theinformation providing units starts up the computer 4 from the stand-bystate, transfers the data outputted from the computer 4 like a remotecontrol signal from the electronic key 2 to the vehicle 5, and furthernotifies various data transferred from the vehicle 5 to the computer 4.

Namely in the information providing unit 3, a transmitting/receivingsection 21 switches the operation according to control by a centralprocessing unit 22, generates and transmits a remote control signalbased on infrared ray through output data from an encoder/decoder 23,and further receives a remote control signal and outputs the receivedremote control signal.

The encoder/decoder 23 switches the operation according to control bythe central processing unit 22, modulates the output data from thecentral processing unit 22, outputs the modulated data to thetransmitting/receiving section 21, and further outputs the data receivedfrom the remote control signal obtained by processing the receivedremote control signal from the transmitting/receiving section 21 to thecentral processing unit 22.

The central processing unit 22 is a control circuit for controllingoperations of the information providing unit 3, and when reception of aremote control signal is notified from the transmitting/receivingsection 21, the central processing unit 22 instructs the encoder/decoder23 to execute the processing according to the remote control signal.With this operation, the central processing unit 22 acquires data forauthentication or the like transmitted from the electronic key 2, anddetermines whether the electronic key 2 transmitting the remote controlsignal corresponds to the vehicle 5 as a target for transmission ofvarious data such as schedules from the computer 4 or not. Verificationof a vehicle with the electronic key 2 is performed by comparing theacquired data for authentication to those previously registered therein,and previous registration of data for authentication can be executed,for instance, by operating a keyboard of the computer 4 or by acquiringdata for authentication by operating the electronic key 2 in theregistration mode.

When the electronic key 2 is authenticated as described above, thecentral processing unit 22 instructs the computer 4 set in the stand-bystate to start up operations by starting an application program for theinformation providing system 1. When the computer is started up, thecentral processing unit 22 sends information identifying the electronickey 2 having transmitted a remote control signal to the computer 4,transfers various types of data outputted from the computer 4 via theencoder/decoder 23 and transmitting/receiving section 21 to the vehicle5, further sends a response obtained from the vehicle 5 in response tothe notification to the computer 4, and with the operations as describedabove data such as schedules outputted from the computer 4 is uploadedto the vehicle 5.

In contrast, the computer 4 is installed, for instance, indoors with theinformation providing unit 3 connected thereto with a prespecifiedinterface, and executes various types of processing programs stored in awork area in a memory 26 of a hard disk drive (HDD) 27 with the centralprocessing unit 25. Of these processing programs, those for the centralprocessing unit 25 for the information providing unit 3 are previouslyinstalled in the computer 4 or are provided by installing programsdownloaded via a network such as the Internet with a communication unitnot shown, or by installing programs previously recorded in varioustypes of recording media. Various types of recording media such as amagnetic disk, an optical disk, a magnetic tape and the like may be usedeach as a recording medium for the purpose described above.

In the computer 4, when an application program for the informationproviding system 1 is started up and no input is provided within aprespecified period of time, the central processing unit 25 switches theoperation mode to the so-called stand-by state to reduce the powerconsumption in the entire system. In the stand-by state, when aninstruction for a start is issued from the information providing unit 3,the central processing unit 25 starts up and executes a prespecifiedprocessing sequence for the application program.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a processing sequence for the processingsteps executed by the central processing unit 22 in the informationproviding unit 3 and the central processing unit 25 in the computer 4.Namely, in the computer 4, when the processing sequence is started, theprocessing flows from step SP31 to step SP32, and the central processingunit 22 in the information providing unit 3 monitors an operation of theelectronic key 2 via the transmitting/receiving section 21 andencoder/decoder 23. When a remote control signal generated in responseto an operation of the electronic key 2 is detected, the processingflows to step SP33, and the central processing unit 22 in theinformation providing unit 3 determines based on the data forauthentication transmitted from the electronic key 2 whether the remotecontrol signal is from the registered electronic key 2 or not. When itis determined that the remote control signal is not from the registeredelectronic key 2, it is determined that any other car accidentallyenters a parking area to which the information providing system 1relates and that a driver of the vehicle operates an electronic key forthe vehicle. In this case, the processing returns from step SP33 to stepSP32 to again monitor an operation of the electronic key 2.

When it is determined in step SP33 that the remote control signal isfrom the registered electronic key 2, the central processing unit 22 inthe information providing unit 3 instructs the computer 4 to start up,and the central processing unit 25 in the computer 4 starts theoperation from the stand-by state. When the central processing unit 25starts up its operations, the central processing unit 25 notifiesstart-up of the operation to the central processing unit 22, and inresponse to this notification, in the following step SP35, informationidentifying the electronic key 2 having transmitted the remote controlsignal is sent to the computer 4.

In response to the operation above, the central processing unit 25 inthe computer 4 identifies the vehicle 5 corresponding to the electronickey 2 from the information identifying the electronic key 2 sent fromthe information providing unit 3 by executing the application programfor the information providing unit 3. In the next step SP36, the centralprocessing unit 25 in the computer 4 executes processing for mutualauthentication with the vehicle 5 based on a result of identification bytransacting authentication data previously registered via theinformation providing unit 3. In the next step SP37, the centralprocessing unit 25 determines whether mutual authentication has beenperformed properly or not.

When it is determined in this step that mutual authentication has notbeen performed properly, it is determined, for instance, that theelectronic key 2 for a vehicle not being parked in a zone covered by theinformation providing system 1 was operated by mistake, the processingby the central processing units 22, 25 returns to step SP32. In responseto this operation, the computer 4 switches the operation mode to thestand-by state after a prespecified period of time has passed. Thecentral processing unit 22 in the information providing unit 3 againmonitors an operation of the electronic key 2.

On the contrary, when it is determined in step SP37 that mutualauthentication has been performed properly, the processing by thecentral processing unit 25 flows to step SP38. In this step, the centralprocessing unit 25 detects a driver who uses the vehicle 5 in successionfrom the schedule of the vehicle 5. Further for the driver detected asdescribed above who uses the vehicle 5 in succession, a schedule of thedriver, electronic mails addressed to the driver, various document data,various documents instructed by the driver, data such as video contentsand audio contents, positional data for a destination for the driver aresearched, and of these data, those not updated yet in the vehicle aredetected.

When data to be updated is detected as described above, the centralprocessing unit 25 transmits the data to the corresponding vehicle 5 viathe information providing unit 3, and updates the log data in the nextstep SP39. Further in the next step SP40, whether all of data have beenupdated or not is determined, and when it is determined that all of thedata have not been updated, the processing returns to step SP38. On thecontrary, when it is determined in step SP40 that all of the data havebeen updated, the central processing unit 25 reports completion ofupdating to the vehicle 5, and then the processing flows to step SP41with the processing sequence terminated.

(1-2) Operations in the First Embodiment

With the configuration as described above, in the vehicle 5 relating tothe information providing system 1, when a remote control signal basedon infrared ray is transmitted from the electronic key 2 in response toan operation of the operation element 6 provided in the electronic key2, the door is locked or unlocked, so that the door can be operated withthe key-less entry system without inserting a key into a keyhole.

In the information providing system 1, an operation for the electronickey 2 for a key-less entry system as described above is monitored by theinformation providing unit 3 with the computer 4 connected thereto. Whena remote control signal from the electronic key 2 is received by theinformation providing unit 3 as a result of monitoring, the computer 4starts up from the stand-by state, and various types of informationrecorded in a hard disk device 27 of the computer 4 are transmitted tothe vehicle 5. With this operation, the information providing system 1monitors a remote control signal from the electronic key 2 for thekey-less entry system, and starts up operations according to the remotecontrol signal as a trigger to provide desired information to thecorresponding vehicle, so that information can easily be provided to thevehicle without requiring any specific operation to the user.

In the step of providing information according to a remote controlsignal as a trigger as described above, when the remote control signalis detected by the information providing unit 3, the informationproviding system 1 determines based on data for recognition whether theremote control signal has been generated in response to an operation ofthe electronic key 2 registered in the information providing system 1 ornot, and only when the remote control signal is generated in response toan operation of the electronic key 2 already registered, the processingfor providing information is executed. Because of the feature, when theelectronic key 2 for a vehicle accidentally entering into a parking areafor the vehicle 5 is operated, the information providing system 1 doesnot provide any information, so that privacy of a driver using thevehicle 5 is protected, and further security of the various informationis insured.

When it is confirmed that the remote control signal is from theregistered electronic key 2, information identifying the electronic key2 based on data for authentication obtained when receiving the remotecontrol signal is notified from the information providing unit 3 to anapplication program in the computer 4 having started up from thestand-by state. Further based on this notification, the vehicle 5corresponding to the electronic key 2 is identified in the computer 4with mutual authentication with the vehicle 5 executed, and only whenthe mutual authentication is made properly, information is provided.Because of this feature, when there are a plurality of vehicles 5 towhich information may be transmitted, or to effectively prevent illegaluse of a third party having malicious intent, information can accuratelybe provided only to the proper vehicle 5.

As described above, in a sequence of data communications between thevehicle 5 and the computer 4 after an operation of the door lock inresponse to an operation of the electronic key 2, thetransmitting/receiving section 12 and the encoder/decoder 13 relating toa key-less entry system are employed in the vehicle 5, while theinformation providing unit 3 provided for detecting an operation of theelectronic key 2 is employed in the computer 4, and because of thefeature, the information providing system 1 effectively usesconfiguration of the key-less entry system to provide information to thevehicle 5.

(1-3) Advantages of the First Embodiment

With the configuration described above, information can be easilyprovided to a vehicle by monitoring a remote control signal from anelectronic key relating to a key-less entry system and starting upoperations of a computer according to this remote control signal as atrigger to provide desired information to the vehicle without requiringany specific operation by a user.

In this case, a system can be built effectively using configuration ofthe key-less entry system by providing information to a vehicle via acommunication unit relating to the key-less entry system.

Information for a vehicle can be surely provided thereto, by identifyinga vehicle relating to a remote control signal in response to anoperation of an electronic key, and providing desired information to thevehicle based on a result of the identification.

Security of various information can be ensured by providing desiredinformation, after freshly executing processing for mutualauthentication between a computer and a vehicle, based on a result ofprocessing for the mutual authentication.

(2) SECOND EMBODIMENT

In this embodiment, when the processing for updating described above inthe first embodiment is carried out, driving data is also provided fromthe vehicle 5 to the computer 4. The driving data includes data ondriving distances, driving time, driving areas, and the like of thevehicle 5, and because of this feature, this embodiment uploads thedriving data to the computer 4, so that the driving data is of help todaily driving control, and further can be used as basis of premium.

Namely, FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a processing sequence for acomputer in a vehicle according to a second embodiment by contrast withFIG. 4. It is to be noted that this embodiment is configured similarlyto the first embodiment, except the point that processing relating tothe driving data is different from each other.

Namely in this case, a central processing unit constituting a vehicleand a computer starts processing for an update, executes processing formutual authentication, then updates various data based on a result ofthe mutual authentication in step SP25, and transfers driving data fromthe vehicle to the computer in the next step SP25-1.

The same advantage as that of the first embodiment can be obtained bytransmitting information also from the vehicle as described above.

(3) THIRD EMBODIMENT

In this embodiment, when an electronic key is operated, desiredinformation is updated in the same way as that in the first or secondembodiment. On the other hand, when a door is locked by operations otherthan that of an electronic key, for instance, in a case where the dooris locked by inserting a key in a keyhole thereof, desired informationis updated in response to a request from a vehicle. Even in this case,like the case of the operation with an electronic key, a computerexecutes processing for mutual authentication with the vehicle, and thenexecutes an update based on a result of the processing.

Because of this feature, this embodiment can obtain the same advantageas that of the first embodiment, even when a door is locked not by anelectronic key but by other operations.

(4) OTHER EMBODIMENTS

In the embodiments described above, descriptions assume a case whereschedules or other data are updated when the door of a vehicle islocked, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration,and the present invention can be applied to the configuration in whichschedules or other data are updated when a door is unlocked, on thecondition that data can be updated at a high speed sufficient for apractical use.

In the embodiments described above, descriptions assume a case wheredesired information is updated from a computer using atransmitting/receiving section relating to a key-less entry system, butthe present invention is not limited to this configuration, and thepresent invention can be applied to the configuration in which atransmitting/receiving section is additionally provided for updatingdate.

In the embodiments described above, descriptions assume a case where thepresent invention is applied to a key-less entry system based on aninfrared remote control signal, but the present invention is not limitedto this configuration, and the present invention can be applied to thekey-less entry system based on a remote control signal by means of radiocommunications.

In the embodiments described above, descriptions assume a case whereschedules, electronic mails and other data are updated, but the presentinvention is not limited to this configuration, and the presentinvention can be broadly applied to updating of, for instance, variousinformation such as driving schedules of a vehicle, information on anin-vehicle environment, and the like.

In the embodiments described above, descriptions assume a case where thepresent invention is applied to a key-less entry system in which thedoor of a vehicle is locked or unlocked in response to an operation of apressed operation element, but the present invention is not limited tothis configuration, and the present invention can be broadly applied tothe key-less entry system in which the door of a vehicle is locked orunlocked in response to bringing an electronic key close to or far awayfrom the door.

As described above, with the present invention, information can beeasily provided to a vehicle by monitoring a remote control signal froman electronic key relating to a key-less entry system and starting upoperations of a computer according to this remote control signal as atrigger to provide desired information to the vehicle, without requiringany specific operation by a user.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is directed to an information providing apparatusfor a vehicle, a vehicle, and a method of providing information to thevehicle, and can be applied particularly to a vehicle having a key-lessentry system.

1. An information providing apparatus for a vehicle for transmittingdesired information to information equipment loaded on the vehicle,comprising: communication means for sending and receiving desired databy means of radio communications; and control means for controllingoperations of information output means for storing said information andsending said information to said vehicle as well as operations of thecommunication means; wherein said control means monitors a remotecontrol signal from an electronic key relating to a key-less entrysystem via said communication means, and said control means starts upoperations of said information output means according to the remotecontrol signal from said electronic key as a trigger to transmit saiddesired information to said vehicle.
 2. A information providingapparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said informationoutput means sends said information via said communication means to saidvehicle.
 3. A information providing apparatus for a vehicle according toclaim 1, wherein said control means identifies said vehicle relating tosaid remote control signal from said electronic key by sending andreceiving desired information via said communication means, andtransmits said desired information to the vehicle based on a result ofsaid identification.
 4. A vehicle capable of downloading desiredinformation stored in prespecified information storage means,comprising: communication means for receiving a remote control signalfrom an electronic key relating to a key-less entry system; and controlmeans for sending and receiving desired data via said communicationmeans; wherein said control means executes an operation for locking adoor of a vehicle with said remote control signal from the correspondingelectronic key detected via said communication means, and then acquiressaid desired information received by said communication means accordingto said remote control signal as a trigger.
 5. The vehicle according toclaim 4, wherein said control means sends and receives prespecifiedinformation with a sender of said information based on informationreceived by said communication means according to said remote controlsignal as a trigger to execute processing for mutual authentication, andthen acquires said desired information based on a result of processingfor the mutual authentication.
 6. A method of providing information to avehicle by transmitting desired information stored in prespecifiedinformation storage means to the vehicle, comprising the steps of:starting up operations of said information storage means in response toa remote control signal from an electronic key relating to a key-lessentry system as a trigger; and providing said desired information to thevehicle corresponding to said remote control signal.
 7. A method ofproviding information to a vehicle according to claim 6 furthercomprising the step of: providing said desired information viacommunication means relating to said remote control signal stored insaid corresponding vehicle.
 8. A method of providing information to avehicle according to claim 6 further comprising the step of: executingprocessing for mutual authentication with said corresponding vehicle toprovide said desired information based on a result of processing for themutual authentication.